Winter is coming, and that means freezing cold weather will descend upon your home. A good heating system can keep you warm and comfortable, but other aspects of the household require attending to as well. Frozen pipes and burst pipes, in particular, are a danger this time of year. And they can strike without warning at any time: even in the middle of the night or while you and your family are away for the holidays. That can turn a comparatively minor household nuisance into a major problem in the blink of an eye.

The best solution to such an issue is to have a trained plumber install an automatic shut-off valve in your home. While it takes a proper plumber with the right training to do so, it can make all the difference in the world when trouble comes calling. Now is an ideal time to schedule an installation, before the temperatures get too cold.

No one likes to think about what might happen in the event of a plumbing leak in your home. Some leaks are easy to spot, such as when you find water spreading over the floor in your bathroom. Others can go for months without being detected: hidden behind the walls or similar hard-to-spot places and causing considerable damage before they are dealt with. And even the most obvious cases assume that you are home to notice them. What happens if a leak occurs when you’re away on vacation: say, if a frozen pipe bursts one Christmas while you and your family are several states away?